Ruslan Provodnikov and Mike Alvarado in the early rounds. Joe Amon, The Denver Post

About 45 minutes after his TKO loss to Ruslan Provodnikov Saturday night in Broomfield, and after HBO and Top Rank crews had their crack, I spoke with an exhausted and battered, but also thoughtful and reflective, Mike Alvarado in his dressing room.

I’ll recount that conversation in my Monday column.

Some preliminaries:

— As you can see, I had Provodnikov ahead 98-92 on my scorecard after 10 rounds. The Russian might not be a “great” fighter, but he is as relentless at moving forward and pressing the action as any fighter I’ve ever seen.

— Alvarado, who I’ve been writing about since 2008, was classy in defeat, not making excuses — but insisting he would learn from the experience and be back. He also thanked those supporting him in the sellout crowd.

— Judging from what I saw, and from what I heard from those watching on HBO, the fight should do nothing to harm Alvarado’s status as a big-paycheck name on a major card.